Kayla Koether

Senior Farm Viability Manager

Kayla Koether joined Practical Farmers of Iowa in February of 2022 as the senior farm viability manager. In the Farm Viability Department, she supports a team that provides personalized assistance to farmers to meet their farm goals and designs programs to meet PFI members’ needs.

A longtime PFI member, Kayla acquired her love for intensive rotational grazing on her family’s fifth-generation farm in Clayton County, Iowa, where she also developed her passion for vibrant farms and rural communities. That passion led her to design an independent major studying international agriculture and rural development at Grinnell College.

Prior to joining PFI, Kayla was a food systems specialist for Iowa State University Extension and Outreach in northeast Iowa, where she helped farmers and food hubs create robust business plans, build communities of peers and develop the local food system. Kayla has been trained as a food business model optimization consultant by the Food Finance Institute at University of Wisconsin-Madison, and has worked to help farmers invest in energy efficiency and renewable energy at the Winneshiek Energy District.

Kayla and her partner, Landon, continue to expand their own small herd of beef cattle. When she’s not tending livestock or working on building projects, you can find Kayla reading, practicing yoga, traveling, horseback riding or hiking scenic trails in the Driftless Region.